Yale Heads to Break with a 178-120 Win Over Southern Connecticut

Craig Steen.

Nov 23, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The men's swimming and
diving team wrapped up a busy four days of competition with a
178-120 win against Southern Connecticut Monday at Yale. Some new
faces stepped up for the Elis, who improved their 2009-2010 dual
meet record to 1-1 with the win.

The day's competition got underway for the men with the 1650
yard freestyle. Freshman Sean Haufler came up big for the
Bulldogs, taking second place with a time of 17:20.74. Fellow
freshmen Jared Lovett, coming off a strong weekend at the Terrier
Invitational, finished third, in 17:32.81.

The Elis dominated the 200 yard medley relay, with the A squad
finishing first and the B squad second. Junior Matt Lee then took
first the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:44.96, touching out
freshmen Mike Dominski , who posted a time of 1:44.99 following his
winning performance with the A relay team.

A freshman led the way yet again for the Bulldogs in the 100
yard backstroke, as freshman Matt Altinok's time of 55.11 seconds
edged out teammate Colin McCarthy's 55.12 for first place in the
event. Fellow Eli Jason Choi took third with a time of 55.17
seconds.

Yale also delivered a strong performance in the 100 yard
breaststroke, with juniors Lugar Choi and Sam Goldsmith and
sophomore Alex Benz taking placing second, third, and fourth,
respectively. Led by Matt Lee, the Bulldogs then swept the top
three spots in the 200 yard butterfly, and sophomore Mack Puhl was
the first of three Elis in the top five in the 50 yard freestyle,
swimming the race in 23.12 seconds.

Following his victory in the grueling 1650 yard freestyle,
Haufler demonstrated his versatility by winning the 200 yard
backstroke. Teammate Colin McCarthy took second with a time of
2:02.15.

Lugar Choi and Craig Steen took second and third in the 500 yard
freestyle, and sophomore Matt Boone's 54.36 second time placed him
first in the 100 yard butterfly. Nick van Nispen combined with Puhl
to complete a sweep of the top three spots.

Yale rounded out the day with an emphatic victory in the 400
yard freestyle relay, as the A team of Lugar Choi, Zak Murez, Chris
Luu, and Craig Steen edged the Owls' A corps by over five seconds.

The Bulldog diving team also demonstrated depth Monday. In the
one-meter event, sophomore Colton Staab led a quartet of Yale
divers with a score of 285.60, second in the competition. He was
followed by seniors Drew Teer (241.05) and Eric Olson (235.35), who
finished third and fourth, and freshman Aaron Seriff-Kullick, who
took sixth. Staab also led the way in the three-meter competition,
as he, Teer, and Olson once again took second, third, and fourth
respectively, earning a total of 18 points on the day.

Monday's performance sends the Bulldogs to a much-needed
Thanksgiving Break with a win. They will be back in action on
Saturday, Dec. 5th when they face off against the
University of Massachusetts in a home contest at 7 pm. The
Minutemen edged Yale in the Terrier Invitational this weekend,
scoring 741.5 points to the Bulldogs' 731.5